Circular u/s 268A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for filing of appeals by the Department before Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, High Courts and SLPs/appeals before Supreme Court - measures for reducing litigation

Monetary limits for departmental appeals set; appeals allowed only if tax effect threshold met, subject to specified exceptions.

The Circular mandates that departmental appeals and SLPs be filed only where the tax effect of disputed issues exceeds prescribed monetary thresholds, subject to enumerated exceptions (constitutional invalidity, departmental instrument invalidity, law enforcement based assessments, pending prosecutions, adverse comments/costs, non quantifiable tax effect, undisclosed foreign income/assets, organised evasion, court directions, writs, non Income Tax Act matters, and specified TDS/TCS or international tax disputes). It defines tax effect (including surcharge and cess, excluding interest except when disputed), prescribes per year and per assessee computation (with special rules for alternate tax provisions and TDS/TCS), requires recording when appeals are deferred for low tax effect, and imposes folder maintenance and monthly reporting obligations; it applies prospectively.